PTQ Report Syracuse, NY 7/24/99 (T8) It has been a while since I have written a report (almost two years). I decided to do one mostly because I thought the sealed deck presented some interesting choices and people might find it interesting. AN ASIDE I would like to say that I enjoyed this tournament very much, all my opponents were quite nice, good natured (probably nicer than I was), and good sports - I wish all magic players were as nice as this group. Here is the card list... my choices and some discussion follow at the end of the "report". I suggest you look at this card list, think about how you would build this sealed deck, and then read my discussion at the end of the report before reading about the rounds (which, frankly are not that interesting - but - are included because - well - this is a tournament report after all.) THE CARD LIST Saga Legacy 6 Land Forest Black Engineered Plague 6 Land Island Black Fog of Gnats 6 Land Mountain Black Giant Cockroach 6 Land Plains Black Sick and Tired 6 Land Swamp Blue Frantic Search Land Remote Isle Blue Thornwind Faeries Black Breach Green Crop Rotation Black Corrupt Green Darkwatch Elves Black Duress Green Yavimaya Granger Black Hollow Dogs Red Impending Disaster Black Parasitic Bond Red Pygmy Pyrosaur Black Pestilence Red Viashino Sandscout Black Ravenous Skirge White Devout Harpist Black Sanguine Guard White Radiant's Judgement Blue Douse White Sustainer of the Realm Blue Pendrell Drake Blue Pendrell Flux Destiny Blue Power Sink Blue Sandbar Serpent Black Phyrexian Monitor Blue Veil of Birds Black Scent of Nightshade Blue Veiled Serpent Blue Fledgling Osprey Gener Mobile Fort Blue Mental Discipline Gener Whetstone Blue Rayne, Academy Chancellor Green Bull Hippo Green Gamekeeper Green Elvish Lyrist Green Goliath Beetle Green Fertile Ground Green Plated Spider Green Gaea's Embrace Green Scent of Ivy Green Lull Red AEther Sting Green Rejuvenate Red Bloodshot Cyclops Green Treetop Rangers Red Goblin Masons Green Venomous Fangs Red Keldon Champion Red Bedlam Red Wild Colos Red Dromosaur White Capashen Knight Red Falter White Capashen Templar Red Goblin Patrol White Jasmine Seer Red Goblin Raider Red Meltdown Red Shower of Sparks White Clear White Congregate White Faith Healer White Monk Realist White Opal Caryatid White Opal Gargoyle White RoP: Blue White RoP: White White Sanctum Custodian White Serra's Hymn White Serra Zealot White Silent Attendant THE ROUNDS NOTE: I did not take notes on the matches, what follow is my score sheet and some notes from memory (which is not that good). d means chose to draw, p mean chose to play. ded means took lethal damage deck means decked. The changes in life totals are written after every change - this means a change could happen more than once per turn. Round 1 vs. Doug Dp|20,18,16,11 deck H |20,18,16,11 Dp|20 H |20,17,14,11,3 ded D |20,16 | Hd|20,15,13 | draw on time. This round was kinda frustrating for me.... first game I got all land.... but I had some defense and a stone... I used it to win. 2nd game I got no land... I died. 3rd game I got all land again. I got out the stone but it was scraped. Finally, finally I drew into some non-land cards and started the flying beats, but time ran out. I think I could have won if I had enough time... but maybe not, his defense was good. Round 2 vs. Nat N |20,19,17,15,13,11,7,5,4,ded Hd|20,19,18 Np|20,19,18,17,16,14,10,6,2,ded H |20,17,13,12,11,10,14,11 I don't remember this match very well, except that I used the embrace to win one of the games against him. Round 3 vs Roan Rp|20,18,16,14,10,7 deck H |20,16 Rp|20 H |20,18,15,12,9,7 ded R |20,18,17,16,15,8 ded Hd|20,17,10,8,11 I don't remember this match very well also. :( Pestilence was important tho. Round 4 vs. Joe Jd|20,18,13 H |20,18,14,10,6,3, ded J |20,19,17,15,13,11,6,5 ded Hd|20,19,18,15,13,11,9,7,13,11,10,5 Jd|20,19,16,15,14,13,11,10,6 ded H |20,16,12,8,7,11 Pestilence won me both of the games. Also something bad happened at the start of the 2nd game. I said I was going to draw (as I have been saying for the last 3 years) and then wrote it down on my score sheet (my score sheets look almost exactly the same as these reports.) We drew our cards and then he asked me if I was ok, I said yes and he started to take a mulligan. I'm like - wait you can't do that, you are playing first and you already said you were ok by asking me. And he said no you said you were playing first. He was upset, and I don't blame him, it was just a bad situation, he had I guess not heard me correctly, and I understand since most players play first. (However, since he is a player that likes to draw like I do, you would think he would hear better). It is one of those bad situations, it is not fair to me to let him mulligan knowing that I am keeping my hand, and it is not fair to him to not be able to mulligan misunderstanding what I had said. In any case, the best of all outcomes happened because he won the game. Round 5 vs. Jason J |20,19,18,15,13,11,8,7 Hd|20,17,13,9,5 ded J |20,18,16,11,6,11 deck Hd|20,10,16,10 Jd|20,19,14,12,11,4,2 H |20,16,11,9,8,7,5 ded The winner of the match was guarantied in the final 8 This match was lost just because I am a moron. In the 3rd game we were getting close to time. I seemed to have the upper hand with a pestilence on the table with a dogs, and two serpents. He had a flying untapping 3/3 drake and a rop black. He was at 10. I attacked with everything. He said no block, rop the dogs. He was now at 4 and I was at 7. I had 3 swamps. LIKE a moron I pestilence for 2. (I don't know what I was thinking, I guess that I put him at 2 and win next turn.) If I had pestilenced for nothing or pestilenced for 3 I would have won. He goes, untap, rancor, attack for 5 - you ded. I had even seen the rancor the game before. Like I said.... I am a moron. Round 6 vs Jason (a different Jason) Jp|20,19,16 deck H |20,14,13,11,8,3 Jp|20,19,18,16,13 H 20,18,16,14,10,14,9,6,4 ded J |20,15,13,9,8,6,6 ded Hd|20,17,14,13,11,10 Won the first with the stone and the 3rd with the pestilence. I'm in the final 8, I proceed to draft a really bad deck as follows: MY DRAFT The cards I drafted are list in sorta the order I drafted them. When you see a space after the first group it means that group of cards could be a slightly different order but it is after the group prior to it. (e.g. in the first pack turbine, winds and edict were the last 3 picks, but I have no idea what the order was). Usually the first group is close to the exact order (these are the picks that I tend to remember the order of better... I wonder why?) Pack 1 Pack 2 Pack 3 Pegasus Charger Rancor Disease Carriers Pestilence Thran War Machine Phyrexian Monitor Heat Ray Ghitu Slinger Disease Carriers Blanchwood Armor Sick and Tired Ravenous Skirge Ticking Gnomes Slinking Skirge Looming Shade Body Snatcher Goblin War Buggy Goblin Medics Skittering Horror Giant Cockroach Duress Unearth Chime of Night Polluted Mire Unearth Scent of Nightshade Priest of Titania Phyrexian Broodlings Trumpet Blast Shower of Sparks Pygmy Pyrosaur Trumpet Blast Scrap Harmonic Convergence Colos Yearling Thran Turbine Defender of Law Squirming Mass Tolarian Winds Plague Beetle Yawgmoth's Edict Sleeper's Guile Mask of Law and Grace Fatigue Fatigue HOW I BUILT IT: You should note that I had only 6 saga cards (and 10 + 9 of the other two) A clear indication that I had no clue what was going on in Saga. 6 Mountains 9 Swamps 1 Polluted Mire Creatures (16) Removal (4) Fun (4) Ravenous Skirge Pestilence 2 Trumpet Blast Looming Shade Heat Ray 2 Unearth Phyrexian Broodlings Sick and Tired 2 Disease Carriers Chime of Night Phyrexian Monitor Slinking Skirge Skittering Horror Colos Yearling Goblin War Buggy Ghitu Slinger Goblin Medics Giant Cockroach Pygmy Pyrosaur Thran War Machine Ticking Gnomes This deck has a chance it is true, but my draw were not fantastic (as needed) and Ken killed me in two straight games. Ken was also playing the perfect deck to beat this one... blue and white with some good tricks and creatures with big butts and flying. HOW I BUILT MY SEALED DECK Added 2 swamps 1 forest. BY COLOR Lands 8 Swamps 5 Forests 3 Islands + Remote Isle Black Green Blue Colorless Corrupt Bull Hippo Pendrell Drake Mobile Fort Hollow Dogs Elvish Lyrist Sandbar Serpent Whetstone Pestilence Gaea's Embrace Veiled Serpent Ravenous Skirge Treetop Rangers Sanguine Guard Darkwatch Elves Engineered Plague Yavimaya Granger Fog of Gnats Plated Spider Giant Cockroach Sick and Tired Phyrexian Monitor Scent of Nightshade BY TYPE Lands (17) Creatures (16) Removal (5) Mmmmmm... good (2) 8 Swamps Bull Hippo Corrupt Gaea's Embrace 5 Forests Darkwatch Elves Engineered Plague Whetstone 3 Islands Elvish Lyrist Pestilence 1 Remote Isle Fog of Gnats Scent of Nightshade Hollow Dogs Sick and Tired Mobile Fort Pendrell Drake Phyrexian Monitor Plated Spider Ravenous Skirge Sandbar Serpent Sanguine Guard Treetop Rangers Giant Cockroach Veiled Serpent Yavimaya Granger WHY LIKE THIS? Well using the black was a no brainer.... I got Corrupt and pestilence, not to mention Engineered Plague (better in draft) and Sick and Tired plus 6 great creatures (ok maybe the Roach is not so hot). But what else to I put in? Clearly the Mobile Fort and the Whetstone also make the cut. I looked over where I stood now, I had 7 creatures, 5 removal and a Stone. The white was really appealing (10 creatures, 1 removal and a Congregate), but I had removal and all those white creatures are so small. Then I saw something neat.... my blue included 3 cycling creatures, 2 of which were quite large, and one of which flew. PLUS there was a Douse for the sideboard. It seemed almost unfair to play Douse against an opponent who was playing red - a good reason to play blue - and look how splashable it was. Now I had to pick between white and green. The white gave me a Custodian, a Sustainer, and a Monk; while green gave me a Spider, a Hippo, a Ranger, a Lyrist, and an Embrace. For me the choice really came down to one of Threats (Green) and Answers (White). (For an interesting discussion of this issue see Dave Price's recent Dojo Article.) I picked the threats - I already had a big batch of Answers in my black. It is interesting to note that I won 4-5 games with pestilence, 3-4 games with Whetstone, and 1 game with the embrace. But I only drew the embrace twice. May all your draws be good ones, Hogan Long Team Grumpy Old Men NYC 7-26-99